This past Saturday was both a good day and a bad day for Franklin native and Virginia State University senior linebacker Andre Rawls.

For his play on the field, the Rawls earned the honor of CIAA Linebacker of the Week. Unfortunately, the Trojans suffered a 33-24 loss to the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania.

“It feels great,” Rawls said about getting the honor. “But there is still a piece missing because we didn’t get the win.”

Against the Vultures, Rawls recorded eight total tackles, with five of them being solo. Two of his tackles were for a loss — a total of 12 yards. He also had an interception and sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss.

Of the interception, Rawls said there was a little bit of trickery involved.

“The interception was a play where I tried to show the quarterback that his receiver was open, and I just stepped in and made a play,” he said.

For the sack, he puts all of the credit on his coaches. Latrell Scott is the head football coach, while Jerry Holmes is the defensive coordinator.

“It was a great call from the coach,” Rawls said. “He made a great call and put me in the right spot to just make a play for the team!”

Rawls said he thought he played well last week, but as a team player he didn’t think he played well enough.

“I am a team player,” he said. “I try to do whatever it takes to help the team win. We didn’t get the win, so I have to come out and play harder this week.”

Today, Sept. 13, the Trojans will host Lenoir-Rhyne for Military Appreciation Day. Lenoir-Rhyne (1-0) is ranked No. 6 in the country for NCAA Division II football programs according to the AFCA Coaches poll.